EDITORIAL: IR Society leads the way forward

April 12, 2002

News that the Investor Relations Society is to consider forging
closer links with its counterparts in Europe at next week's annual
conference represent an acknowledgement of the growing trend of
convergence in European financial affairs.

Moves towards a truly European capital markets infrastructure -
underlined by the spate of recent merger attempts by country stock
markets - are matched by plans for a unified regulatory framework under
the EU.

The UK's IR Society, with 20 years of pedigree and a membership
encompassing most of the FTSE 250, is the most mature of such bodies in
Europe, and is in a position to take a lead on this, especially since it
represents the world's most influential financial centre outside New
York.

And yet the driver for closer links among IR practitioners across the EU
should not be seen as London's quest to extend its influence, despite
that being a positive by-product for Square Mile communicators. The
impulse should be a recognition that globalisation is having a profound
effect on the way companies communicate with their owners. In short, the
need for European IR organisations to exchange best practice information
is acute, particularly given the increasingly diverse ownership of most
corporations.

But the globalisation process in professional associations need not end
at the EU's borders. Given the growing interdependence of Europe, the US
and Asia-Pacific markets, the IR Society should look still further
afield in forging bonds with bodies engaged in its line of work. London,
Frankfurt, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo are all in a position to teach
each other new tricks.